Similarities and Differences Between Native and Non-Native Educators in Teaching

English

English quickly has become a world language since the second half of the twentieth century.
English is currently the most widely used and most valid language in the world, with
countries where English is the official language and people who speak it as a second
language. This situation created the problem of how to teach English, and in the last fifty and
sixty years there has been a lot of progress in solving this problem. One of the issues with
teaching English is who will teach it. At this point, there are two options at hand: one being
native speakers of English and the other a teacher who learns English later and teaches it to
people who speak same language as he or she. Therefore, questions arise about which one is
easier and more efficient to learn English. The differences and similarities between native
English speakers and non-native speakers is the most important of these questions. Effective
teaching of English as a second language is only possible by finding healthy answers to these
questions. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the similarities and differences between
these two groups by comparing them.

Firstly, it can be said that the most obvious alikeness is the enthusiasm of the members of
both groups to teach English. The biggest common point of both native and the other
instructors is that they have a desire to teach this language to others. If the situation is
examined from the point of view of native English speaking instructors, the main motivation
for doing this job even if they are from other professions is that they love their own language
and therefore, they want to teach this language to others. Non-native speakers of English
eagerly teach others what they have learned as a foreign language.

Another similarity between the two groups is that they both give homework to students.
Because of repetition is the key factor at learning, students should look over what they learnt.
Perhaps maybe the best way to get students to do repetition is to give them assignments.
Therefore, both native instructors and non-native teachers give homework.

As a final similarity, the English knowledge of the two groups can be mentioned. It is
naturally more expected that local trainers will be more proficient in the language than others.
However, it is not possible for educators who learn English as a second language to teach a
subject that they do not know enough. In addition, because they learned the language later, it
may even be possible that non-native teachers know better grammatical subjects that the
natives are not aware of. Therefore, language proficiency is a third issue that both groups have
in common.

Having mentioned these similarities, the differences between the two groups can now be
evaluated. Merino (1997) states that “the most notable among these differences is the fact that
native instructors naturally speak English more fluently and their pronunciation is superior”
(p.360). The superiority of local trainers in this regard makes them preferred more, because
there is an approach that learning by speaking is more important in language education. This
does not mean that non-native teachers do not speak English fluently, but it puts them in the
background in this sense.

Another important difference between the two groups of educators is the issue of proficiency
in the mother tongue of English learners. While non-native teachers speak the same language
as their students, native educators often have little or no knowledge of the language. This can
cause some problems in terms of education. For example, while native teachers have much
more difficulty in explaining a subject that students cannot understand, especially at the
elementary levels, other teachers can easily explain the subject through a common language.
Apart from this, in terms of classroom management, it is possible to say that they are more
fortunate than local instructors, as they can speak the same language with the students.

The third difference is rather about a technical issue. While native instructors often do not
have an English teaching certificate requirement, non-native educators are almost always
expected to have this educational background. Since local trainers are preferred mostly for
their speaking skills, it is not expected that they will be trained in this subject. On the other
hand, non-native teachers are expected to certify that they have the ability to teach this
language, since they have learnt the language later. Perhaps there is one more difference to be
made, depending on this. Namely, native teachers stand out more with their informal attitudes.
According to Árva (2000), they are more like a friend teaching a language than a teacher. No
doubt, the fact that they have not received formal teacher education has an important role in
this. On the other hand, non-native teachers tend to take a formal stance, to be more
committed to the curriculum although this is not necessarily the case.

To sum up, there are some similarities and differences between native and non-native
instructors assigned to teach English as a universal language as well as a foreign language.
These similarities can be listed as their willingness to teach the language, their command of
the subject and their homework habits. The differences between these two groups can be
listed as following: the native instructors are superior in speaking and pronunciation but are
insufficient in the language of the students, such a thing is not expected from the natives while
the non-native educators have a diploma in this field, and the native teachers adopt a sincerer
attitude than the others. In other words, it can be said that both groups have advantages and
disadvantages.

REFERENCES

Árva, V. & Medgyes, P. (2000). Native and non-native teachers in the classroom. System, 28,
355-372.

Merino, I. (1997). Native English-Speaking Teachers versus Non-Native English-Speaking

Teachers. Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingles, 10, 69-79.